Also crap is what Blue Cross Blue Shield has offered on the public exchange.

But we're seeing more problems with the results of ObamaCare.

Kate Randall (WSWS) points out other emerging problems:US health insurance companies are preparing to seek substantial increases in Obamacare premiums, the Hill
reported Monday. Citing big losses on the Affordable Care Act
marketplaces, many insurers will ask state insurance commissioners to
approve double-digit hikes in ACA premiums and some may pull out of the
market if they are not approved.The planned premium hikes are a further exposure of the pro-corporate
character of Barack Obama’s signature domestic legislation. Both
candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary
Clinton and Bernie Sanders, have embraced the ACA as a supposedly
progressive health care reform.In reality, the ACA is designed to funnel increased profits to the
private insurance companies. Under the law’s “individual mandate,” those
without insurance through a government program or employer must obtain
coverage offered by private insurers or pay a penalty. The insurers are
demanding a hefty profit as the condition for their participation in the
ACA marketplaces.Many insurers say they have been losing money on Obamacare plans, in
part due to setting their premiums too low when they started in 2014.
“There are absolutely some carriers that are going to have to come in
with some pretty significant price hikes to make up for the underpricing
that they did before,” Sabrina Corlette of Georgetown University’s
Center on Health Insurance Reforms told the Hill.

Monday, April 25, 2016. Chaos and violence continue, the Kurds and the
Shi'ites are at odds, the United Nations is wondering where the plan for
'day after' is, and much more.

Today, the US Defense Dept announced:

Strikes in IraqAttack, fighter, ground attack and remotely piloted aircraft
conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s
government:-- Near Baghdadi, a strike struck an ISIL staging area.-- Near Huwayjah, a strike destroyed an ISIL tunnel system.-- Near Fallujah, five strikes struck three separate ISIL
tactical units and an ISIL staging area and destroyed three ISIL
fighting positions, two ISIL mortar positions, an ISIL bulldozer, an
ISIL front-end loader, an ISIL recoilless rifle and three ISIL bed-down
locations.-- Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three ISIL anti-air artillery pieces and an ISIL vehicle.-- Near Sinjar, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.-- Near Waleed, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic
events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a
single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a
single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle
is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons
against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for
example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or
impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not
report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number
of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual
munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in
counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a
strike.

Like that's worked.

Daily bombings since August of 2014 and Iraq's no closer to the
political solution US President Barack Obama insisted June 19, 2014 was
the only answer.

Worse, AFP reports, "Clashes between Kurdish and Shiite Turkmen fighters in an Iraqi town
late Monday cut the main road from Baghdad to the north for the second
day in a row and threatened to undermine a cease-fire agreement reached
by military leaders a day earlier."

Yes, day two.

Sunday, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Tim Hume (CNN) reported, "Twenty-two fighters have been killed in ongoing clashes between Kurdish
Peshmerga and Shiite militia members in northern Iraq, local security
officials say, a development that complicates the fight against ISIS in
the region."

DOW JONES explained it this way, "A firefight between Iraqi Kurdish fighters and a Shiite militia in northern Iraq has left at least 27 of
the combatants dead and threatens to fray Iraq's fragile anti-Islamic State alliance."

But non-western outlets explained it a little differently. Dalshad Abdullah, Manaf al-Obeidi and Hamza Mustapha (ASHARQ AL-AWSAT) offered:Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Iranian soldiers
and militants belonging to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah had been a part
of the recent battles, fighting alongside the Mobilization Forces.During the first hours of battle, over 25 combatants belonging to the Turkmens’ side were reported dead.On its behalf, the Turkmen party accused groups of militants coming
from beyond borders of instigating dispute among the people of Tuz
Khormato. In an announcement, Turkmens called out the voice of reason
found in everyone to rule, so that civilians would not have to pay the
price of an armed conflict.

If, two years ago, Barack had put 1/4 of the effort into diplomacy that
he did into bombing Iraq, things might be different today.

Instead, he failed to lead.

And Secretary of State John Kerry's ridiculous assumption that he was Secretary of Defense did not make things better.

Diplomacy was shoved aside and the State Dept worked on corralling nations into being part of the so-called 'coalition.'

They should have put that time and energy into leading on political solutions.

For
seasoned observers of the American military involvement in Iraq -- going
back more than 25 years to the start of the Persian Gulf war -- it is
all part of a depressingly familiar pattern: battlefield gains that do
not bring stability in their wake.

“Unfortunately,
as has been a trademark of American involvement with Iraq at least
since 2003 (and arguably since 1991), military success is not being
matched with the commensurate political-economic efforts that will
ultimately determine whether battlefield successes are translated into
lasting achievements,” Kenneth M. Pollack, a senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution and a longtime Iraq analyst, wrote recently in an online column.

A
growing number of critics are warning that American-backed military
victories need to be backed up with political reconciliation between
Sunni and Shiite Arabs, something Iran is working against, and with
determined efforts to rebuild cities so that civilians can return.

But he [Barack]'s also cited another reason for restraint: There’s no point in
throwing American troops into this conflict without a decent prospect
for a political solution. Specifically, as long as Iraq’s
Shiite-led government doesn’t share power with the Sunnis, ISIS (or
jihadist organizations like ISIS) can’t be crushed. The Baghdad
government’s oppressive policies and corrupt practices might not have
caused the rise of ISIS, but they’ve helped sustain it and legitimized
the grievances that ISIS has exploited, encouraging even many moderate
Sunnis to tolerate—or at least not rebel against—the presence of ISIS as
the lesser of two evils.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has more inclusive inclinations than
his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki. And the American commanders in Iraq
have done much to reinforce these tendencies, for instance paying the
Kurdish peshmerga and the anti-ISIS Sunni tribal fighters through the
Baghdad treasury—and thus building a sense of loyalty to and from the
government—rather than giving them cash directly, as was done during the
tribal co-optations of 2007 (as had to be done, since Maliki
wasn’t willing to be the conduit). Another hopeful sign: The U.S.
commander leading this tribal coordination is Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland,
who, as a colonel back in 2006, organized the Anbar Awakening,
the first (and, for a while, pivotal) campaign in which Sunni militias
cooperated with U.S. troops to beat back al-Qaida. When it comes to
melding tribal politics and military entities in western Iraq,
MacFarland has no equal.

Barack's had no real plan. Which is why the US government has pushed
the US military into the arms of groups that previously killed US troops
in Iraq. And it's not just getting cozy with the League of Righteous,
it's also setting these terrorists -- that's what they are -- up to be
in charge of Iraq.

Stratfor offers an analysis which opens:In some ways, the fight against the Islamic State
in Iraq has masked the country's deep fragmentation. During their
campaign against the jihadist group, Iraq's many ethnic and religious
groups have often cooperated with one another. United by a desire to
reclaim territory from the jihadist group, the Kurdish peshmerga, Shiite
militias and Sunni tribal militias, along with the Iraqi government
forces, have launched numerous joint operations. But competing goals
among the groups, all of which desire more economic resources, territory
and political influence, will bring them into conflict. Over the course
of the operations themselves, longstanding tensions between the
factions have already manifested. The struggle for influence and control
among the groups will emerge even more fully as they overcome their
common enemy.Although Iraq's ethnic and religious communities exert their
influence in the country in different ways, they share one important
means in common: their militias. In Iraq, a claim to territory often
translates to a claim to power. To a great extent, this is a symptom of
the weakness of the Iraqi security forces. Numbering under 150,000 in
front-line forces, Iraq's military suffers from poor leadership and
logistics, dismal salaries and weak morale. As a result, militias in
Iraq have risen to prominence, throwing much-needed support behind the
Iraqi security forces. At the same time, the militias come with their
own agendas.

No real thought is given. No long term plan exists.

The United Nations is noting this lack of a long term plan:

Iraq
must immediately take concrete steps to plan for “the day after” the
defeat of ISIL, grounded in equality, the rule of law and a vision that
has earned the confidence of all the country’s diverse communities, UN
Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore urged today, at
the end of a week-long visit to Iraq.

“Iraq, it seems, has a long memory but is short on
vision,” Gilmore said. “It is like a vehicle travelling over rocky
terrain, with a large rearview mirror but only a keyhole for a
windscreen, despite a vicious contest for the wheel. The dominant
narrative among many of Iraq’s leaders is of ‘my community’s grievance’,
failing to acknowledge the widespread nature of Iraqis’ suffering and
failing to chart a course for an inclusive future.”

“Iraqis are crying out for fairness, recognition,
justice, appreciation and meaningful participation in shaping their
future – a process that goes forward and not backwards.”

“All the leaders of Iraq, at every level, in both word
and action, need to demonstrate a far greater commitment to peace,
equality and to the rule of law than to grievances or to vengeance
hardwired by sectarianism. There is a worrying absence of a political
narrative that brings together all the diverse communities in Iraq, a
narrative that includes all the minority communities. This must be
urgently addressed,” she added.

Gilmore stressed that Iraq’s challenges are not military
alone and its future is not solely a matter of defeating ISIL and
liberating its territories.

“The existence of armed conflict in certain regions does
not excuse or justify the absence of the rule of law in the broader
Iraq. Judicial independence, an end to arbitrary detentions, respect for
due process, the prohibition of torture – these are neither ideals nor
luxuries, but are indispensable foundations of stability,” she said.

“Firm steps must be taken – now – to plan for the day
after ISIL, steps that broaden inclusion and deepen fairness, including
through structured local, regional and national dialogue on inclusion,
peaceful co-existence and mutual respect. Unchecked corruption, lack of
accountability for past and present crimes, the problem of tribal
militias, the growing number of internally displaced people, the partial
or total destruction of entire villages and towns, violence against
women, and the need for constitutional and legislative reforms are some
of the many pressing human rights concerns in Iraq that need priority
attention.”

During her mission to Iraq, Gilmore visited Baghdad,
Najaf, Erbil and the Shariya camp for internally displaced people (IDPs)
in Dohuk. She met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other senior
Government officials, as well as the President of the Kurdistan region
of Iraq, leaders of civil society, including religious and ethnic
communities, human rights defenders, and survivors of human rights
violations.

“The blight of ISIL was made tragically clear by the
stories of survivors of violations that we met in IDP camps in Dohuk.
The Yezidi man who was forcibly convicted, subjected to mock executions
and who witnessed a pregnant woman stoned to death; the woman who was
subjected to sexual slavery for more than a year; the man whose entire
family – wife, daughters, son – were abducted by ISIL and who couldn’t
afford the USD 30,000 ransom demanded for their release,” Gilmore said.
“The human rights abuses being perpetrated by ISIL must neither be
forgotten, nor silenced. The right to truth is crucial, as is the
possibility of accountability for those who have committed what may
amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity or even genocide. Evidence
must be preserved and testimony must continue to be gathered.”

Gilmore also urged the international community to
provide more support to humanitarian needs, the rebuilding of essential
infrastructure and towards justice and reconciliation in Iraq.

“We all have responsibilities towards the people of
Iraq. While there is an international military coalition in place, a
comparably resourced international coalition of practical compassion is
also needed to help with the building blocks towards a sustained peace
in Iraq,” she said.

Where's the plan, Barack?

Bombing won't bring peace.

Political reconciliation?

The Iraqi government agreed to that in 2007 as part of the White House
benchmarks . . . they just never implemented it like they promised to.

So until the US government is willing to hold back on weapons and aids
until Iraq makes political progress, there is no progress.

XINHUA reports a Baghdad car bombing has claimed 7 lives and left thirty more injured.

In the US, War Hawk Hillary Clinton continues hoping she can escape her vote for the Iraq War and her years of support for it.

Hillary devotee and Clinton cult member Debra Messing refuses to demand
accountability from her pin up Hillary Clinton. She does, however,
insult everyone else. A point made in Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Deborah Messy."